5 things to know before the stock market opens Tuesday, July 16

Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:

The major averages closed in the green on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average had the highest gains, jumping more than 200 points — or 0.53% — to 40,211.72. Not only did the blue-chip index see a record close but it also hit a new intraday high during the session. The S&P 500 also touched a new intraday high, gaining 0.28% to close at 5,631.22. The Nasdaq Composite also closed higher, advancing 0.4% to 18,472.57. Follow live market updates.

Looks like the Federal Reserve isn’t going to hold back on rate cuts before hitting its inflation target. At the Economic Club of Washington D.C. on Monday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that the central bank won’t wait until inflation hits 2% to cut interest rates. The Fed is instead going to look for “greater confidence” that inflation will return to the 2% level. “The implication of that is that if you wait until inflation gets all the way down to 2%, you’ve probably waited too long, because the tightening that you’re doing, or the level of tightness that you have, is still having effects which will probably drive inflation below 2%,” the chairman said. In terms of the U.S. economy, Powell added that he thinks a “hard landing” wasn’t “a likely scenario.”

Former President Donald Trump attended Day 1 of the Republican National Convention, where he was seen wearing a bandage over his right ear. This marks his first appearance since Saturday’s assassination attempt. Next to him in the VIP box was his newly chosen vice presidential pick, Ohio Sen. JD Vance. Other close allies, like conservative television personality Tucker Carlson and House Speaker Mike Johnson, were also spotted in the box. His appearance came as shares of Trump Media closed more than 30% higher in Monday’s trading session. Also on Monday, Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the criminal classified documents case against the former president. A spokesman for special counsel Jack Smith said the Department of Justice will appeal the decision.

It’s now uncertain if General Motors will actually meet its EV capacity target. According to the company’s CEO Mary Barra, it may not have the capacity to produce 1 million all-electric vehicles in North America by the end of next year. “We won’t get to a million just because the market is not developing, but it will get there,” Barra said at a virtual CNBC CEO Council event on Monday. This comes after the company has reiterated for more than two years that it would have production capacity in North America as well as China by 2025. This is despite the company changing or withdrawing several EV targets and product plans in the past year.

A preview version of the new iPhone update has arrived. On Monday, Apple released a public beta version of the iOS 18 software that will launch alongside new iPhones later this year. While Apple Intelligence isn’t in the public beta, a beta version of it will be released this fall. Until then, the company said users will be able to try it out this summer. The new update comes with new versions of core user interface elements, including the lock screen, home screen and Control Center. Apps like Photos and Messages have also been redesigned. Not only that, users will even be able to make their app icons the same color.

— CNBC’s Alex Harring, Yun Li, Jesse Pound, Rebecca Picciotto, Kevin Breuninger, April Roach, Dan Mangan, Michael Wayland and Kif Leswing contributed to this report.

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